Grant Morrison is a comic book writer, artist and part time shaman. He has written comics for D.C and Marvel including Superman, Batman, Judge Dredd, The X-Men and many more. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed series of graphic novels 'The Invisibles', an esoteric, sci-fi, conspiracy adventure centered around an underground group of psychic rebels! The Invisibles is said to have inspired The Matrix. The main character in the Invisibles 'King Mob' a 'psychedelic dandy' is said to be based on Morrison himself.

Grant Morrison practices chaos magic which is simply described as the belief that any thought can become a physical reality. The above documentary talks about the occult and magic practices which Morrison is into as well as his successful career in comics post Alan Moore, the creator of 'The Watchmen'. An interesting watch if your into comics and magic.

Directed by Konee Rok this video is very ill, on some Kill Bill anime, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Sin City type ish. Raekwon murders the track spraying poisonous lyrical darts, which is hardly surprising seeing as Raekwon has pretty much been murdering instrumentals since the age of 14.

Monday, 14 February 2011

There's not much UK hip-hop on this blog, because unfortunately I'm not feeling a great deal of UK hip-hop recently other than Giggs, P-Money, Lee Scott, Bill Shakes, Nate, Piff Gang and a few other bits and pieces. It seems like a lot of UK rap has really bad production or is really commercial. Whilst N-Dubz and Tinchie may be making it to No.1 their brand of pop grime is very debatable, their songs aspire to be US pop anthems from the likes of Usher or Blacked Eyed Peas. The best UK rap can be found dispersed amongst the UK grime scene and on SBTV videos on youtube.

Super Dertie's 'Cadillac EP' is a godsend, the production is off the chain, whether the samples have been cleared or not. And Super Dertie, has made something no other UK rapper has done that I'm aware of. He's made an R&B record. With echoes of Barry White and Big Daddy Kane, the 'Cadillac EP' was made with the ladies in mind. Like a UK Wiz Khalifa or Curren$y Super waxes lyrical about women, weed and of course automobiles. UK Hip-Hop emcees have a habit of trying to overcomplicate their rhymes and talking about things out of sci-fi novels, Super Dertie is a welcome break from this tradition. Super's buttery flow is gentle and well thought out, more Slum Village than Canibus. Super has brought the funk and soul back to UK rap. Super Dertie is in the rap crews Second Nature and Piff Gang and comes from a background of rapping over grime, garage and hip-hop tracks. Sometimes Super reminds me a bit of Phonte or Bushkin from Heartless crew.

Visuals for South London production duo Mount Kimbie. Apparently the director Tyrone Lebon, asked to be able to spend the entire budget for the video on flying around the world taking loads of pictures. And that's exactly what he did. Mesmerizing.

Mount Kimbies - 'Crooks and Lovers' album was one of my favorite joints of 2010.

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Classic soul music. Dudley Perkins and Madlib. Lyrics, beats, vocals and MED's verse are all on point. Add this to your Valentine's playlist, it's a deal maker. From the album Expressions (2012 A.U) released on Stones Throw records.

The other night I went I went to Scala in Kings Cross to attend the J Dilla tribute event put on by Spin Doctor, the Living Proof & Nonsense crew and various other members of the UK hip-hop/club community. I was surprised to see such a large turnout of people, I was also surprised by the type of people at the gig. Contrary to many hip-hop events I've attended before in the UK, the crowd wasn't predominately white! It was a real mix, with caucasians probably making up a minority, also it was really cool to be surrounded by people who are all into the same music as me. I believe that certain frequencies resonate with like-minded people.

Crowd analysis aside, the music left me feeling invigorated and ecstatic: a minor religious experience! I believe there is a quality in Dilla's music of positivity and love which can have an incredible energizing effect on a crowd instantaneously. Whilst of course this can be said for other musicians, it was amazing to hear classic after classic, hit after hit for hours on end all produced by the one man.

Below are a few of the tracks that I heard on the other night that particularly resonated with me.

It's strange that since Jay Electronica signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation, we haven't heard much from him. Is Jay-Z holding him back?

Anyway here is a healthy dose of that "elohim, annunaki" rap to keep you sane in the midst of all the Soulja Boy's & Lil B's out there. For those that don't know Jay Electronica was lauded as Hip Hop's saviour last year because of his particularly dope esoteric, conspiracy rhymes over tight, classic production on the tracks 'Exhibit C' and 'Exhibit A'. Jay reintroduced Hip-Hop to the concept of an intelligent emcee, a welcome breath of fresh air admidst the sea of main stream super ignorant rap.

This is a nice batch of some of Jay's tunes to keep you going until he does finally drop something on Roc Nation.

The video depicts Nas as ancient African nobility/ruler complete with crown, medallion and robe and Damien Marley as a magi/priest rocking what looks like a very expensive red robe. Throughout they are juxtaposed against a backdrop of moving images and symbols such as pyramids, hieroglyphics, scenes of the motherland, planetary nebulae and star constellations, all of which allude to lyrics in the song. Visually this video is like a combination of Kanye's 'Power' and Flying Lotus' 'MmmmHmmm'.

Sunday, 6 February 2011

D'Angelo's 'Voodoo' is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. If you're unfamiliar with D'angelo this is a great introduction and if you're a fan this video is a gem. It has some dope footage of D'Angelo at Electric Lady Land Studios and in Brazil. The film features Q-Tip, Eric Clapton, Chris Rock and more. Enjoy.